


Books in the Van

by i_write_a_lot



Category: White Collar
Genre: Book Club, Books, Boredom, Friendship, Gen, Other - Freeform, Reading, book exchanges, june's library, late night reading, light humor, personalized libraries, team fic kinda, the van
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-31
Updated: 2014-03-31
Packaged: 2018-01-17 18:11:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1397593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_write_a_lot/pseuds/i_write_a_lot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caffrey was quiet, Peter observed as he and the team were in the van. Quiet just by having a book in his hands, and Peter couldn’t be happier about it, but it was still a bit unnatural to have a quiet Caffrey.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Books in the Van

**Author's Note:**

> -I do not own White Collar, nor any books mentioned within the fic.
> 
> -Books mentioned:   
>  *Lord of the Flies  
>  *The Client  
>  *Going Postal  
>  *Artemis Fowl  
>  *American Gods  
>  *The Road  
>  *The Count of Monte Cristo  
>  *if I've missed some and you want the title/author-please feel free to let me know
> 
> -I know I’ve done a couple of ‘Neal/Peter reads books’, but I thought of this one and decided to go with it anyway. Every book I mentioned in this fic, I have read-some of them more than once. I thought that all of them were fairly good books, some better than others.
> 
> -Kudos and Comments much appreciated.

Neal was BORED.

Bored to death.

Bored to tears.

Bored to the pits of insanity where he’d be bored further once the insanity stopped being fun and interesting and different.

And, oh, yeah-he was bored. 

Since Peter and the others weren’t paying any attention to him, and there wasn’t anything going on; except mindless hours of watching the security footage and waiting for someone to come to the building, as it usually happened on a case-Neal was just sitting in the van, watching the others do paperwork or whatever it was they were doing while they waited for their suspect to show up. 

Except that the suspect never showed, leaving them high and dry and Neal bored out of his mind as he spun around yet again in his chair, wishing that there was something he could do. He’d suggest going out on a coffee run, but he’d just gone not even half an hour ago, and was pretty sure that they wouldn’t go for it.

He spun the chair again, and finally Diana spoke glancing up from her computer.

“Bring a book next time, Caffrey.” Diana suggested, and Neal glowered at her. “Seriously, the books help pass the time, right? Bring a couple of them. You can get some more reading in that way, and it’ll keep us from being driven insane.” She said with a roll of her eyes. 

Neal watched her thoughtfully as she left, still glad to finally be out of that van from hell, seeing as it had gotten late enough that everyone was going home.   
~*~

Neal entered June’s modest sized library. It had shelves and shelves full of books, but he had no idea where to start. He’d never been much of a bookworm, really, though there was the occasional book that he’d read and liked (i.e.: Lord of the Flies was a favorite, though he’d hated the ending). 

“Neal,” June said, her tone one of pleasure as she came in behind him, moving to get into the library and then turning to watch him. “What a pleasant surprise! You’re rarely in this part of the house, what brings you here?” She asked, curious, as she closed the thick book that she was reading. Neal was curious as to which book she was reading, but pushed that thought into the back of his mind for now for the more important matter at hand.

“Uh…Diana suggested a book to read for the next van assignment, but…” He shrugged, feeling a little helpless as he did so. 

She laughed in delight. 

“But you’ve no idea where to start!” She said, and he nodded agreement earnestly. “Well, then, how about I help you around a bit? Now, what’s the last book you read that you really liked and remembered even now?”

“Lord of the Flies,” Neal said, almost immediately. “Mozzie recommended it to me, but-”

“You hated the ending. Most everyone seems to,” She mused thoughtfully, as she pulled her reading glasses off and they then hung around her neck while she stood, placing the book she’d had in her lap onto the chair’s side table where a glass of tea was also resting. “Do you like mysteries, then?” She asked with a knowing look.

“Occasionally,” Neal said with a smothered grin, and June smiled knowingly. 

“Hmm…here. Try this one: The Road by Michael Cormac. It’s a post apocalyptic father-son tale about survival in the aftermath of the end of humanity. It’s a very thought-provoking book, and highly enjoyable by a lot of my friends in the book club.” June said, pressing one from the shelf near them into his hands. “And…let’s see, are you a fast reader, Neal?”

“Fairly fast,” Neal said modestly, and she nodded. 

“Alright-how do you feel about long novels?”

“Anything to take my mind off that van,” Neal said seriously, and she laughed in delight, reaching up to the shelf above and pulling down another book-this one thicker than the last. 

“Here we are, a very good novel called ‘Going Postal’. It’s not very long, but it’s longer than the other, and it’s about a conman too.” She teased. Neal blinked and grinned, tucking both books underneath his arms. “And just in case, one final book should you finish those two…” She wandered the shelves before coming to a halt, studying the books, finally reaching out, and picking one. “Here we are…one of my personal favorites,” She handed him a heavily bound book where the cover looked to be interesting, and he flipped it open to start read. 

A few minutes later, and June came back with a small stack of books. Six by the count of them. Some thick, some thin. Neal blinked at seeing the stack of books, and she shrugged. 

“I’m a heavy reader. I’ve always enjoyed living in another world simply by reading,” She told him, and he nodded slowly, scanning the titles: The Client by John Grisham, American Gods by Neal Gaiman, Artemis Fowl by Eoin Coffer, Nothing to Loose by Lee Child, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larrson, and finally The Count of Monte Cristo. He stared at all the books, which looked to be an odd mix of them.

“These can get you started.” June told him, as he set the other two books at the top. After a moment, he looked up and grinned.   
~*~

Two days later, and he was back in the van, though this time he was prepared and had already spent fifteen quiet minutes of reading, making Peter feel paranoid and Diana feel content. 

“What book are you reading, Neal?” Diana called from the front. 

“It’s one June leant me. It’s called,” He flipped to the front. “The Firm.”

“Good book!” Diana said, surprised. “Haven’t read that one in a while. Boss, can I-”

“No. We’re investigating. Not reading.” Peter said, frowning at her. Diana pouted, and he sighed. “If nothing happens within the next hour, you can snag a book from Neal.” He said, rolling his eyes. “In the meantime, how about you go and get coffee and some lunch for us?” He suggested, and she sighed.

“Alright, fine.” She said, still somewhat pouting, and went to do just that.

Peter completely missed seeing Neal’s smirk in his direction.  
~*~

A few months later, and Peter couldn’t help but marvel in the change that was occurring in the van. Caffrey was quiet, Peter observed as he and the team were all in the van. Quiet just by having a book in his hands, and Peter couldn’t be happier about it, but it was still a bit unnatural to have a quiet Caffrey. He kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it seemed as though-for now-things were…peaceful. And it was all thanks to just having some books in the van. 

~*~

End


End file.
